Long Ride From Home
by MPHknows
Summary: Fang, Iggy, and Aidan are cowboys who will transport anything to any place in the US. They're known for taking the hardest orders from anyone, and sometimes not the legalist. Jeb Ride believes in them to a great extent. His daughter, not so much. FAX
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride or anything that is obvious that I don't own. If I get anything incorrect (which, I think I'll keep things vague enough in areas I don't know, I don't think I will) just review and tell me :D**

Long Ride From Home

_Prologue_

The three young men laid side by side, the two on the edges staring up into the star filled sky. All three were around twenty five years of age and tall for their height, two being taller than the third but lankier. Every single one had their hair cropped short, matching the mains of two of the three horses sleeping off to the side of the small camp.

The shortest (but not really short at all) man on the far left yawned, letting his obsidian eyes close slightly before he picked up his black riding hat that was sitting off to the side and placed it over his face. His black hair moved slightly as the wind whistled through the camp, putting out what was left of the small embers that was once their fire.

The blind one next to him kept his faded red eyes open, one hand on his own hat on his chest while the other rested in his vibrant red hair. He yawned, stretching his legs as far as they would go before trying to relax all the muscles in his body.

The one of the far right was already softly snoring, his strawberry blond cowlick that sat right on his hair line at the top of his forehead whipping around in the wind. His vibrant blue eyes were hidden by his eyelids, but anyone who had even given him a glance could tell you that, just by the look in them, he was the most arrogant.

The three men had been best friends for as long as they could remember, starting up their business as soon as they were allowed to leave school. Aidan Aze was the one with the initiative, the one that always cheered them up when business was bad and told them it was going to get better.

Iggy Griffiths was the risk taker. The one who wanted to be the best, not the smartest. If he was in charge of the money, they'd be broke and not have enough room to carry all the expensive junk they'd have.

Fang Venom was the boss. Not only was he a good leader for the other two, but he was the one with the horses and the money. Plus, the smarts and eyes to read a map. He was a good negotiator, but tended to have a problem when young women were involved. They usually wanted to pay with things other than money.

The three were the perfect team for any job. Not to mention, their horses were champions. They'd get a job one place, transport whatever it was, then get another job the day the last one was finished. This was why Jeb Ride hired them when they walked into his bar and dinner.

This was why his daughter was determined to prove they weren't the only ones able to make the great trek in under a week.


	2. Chapter One: A Mare,a Gelding,a Stallion

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride or anything that is obvious that I don't own. If I get anything incorrect (which, I think I'll keep things vague enough in areas I don't know, I don't think I will) just review and tell me :D**

Long Ride From Home

_Chapter One: A Mare, a Gelding, and a Stallion_

_Fang_

I slid off Cobalt, my black sixteen hands Egyptian horse, feeling my boots hit the ground smoothly. As I turned to walk into the small eatery, I could hear my friends slowly coming off their horses and tying them up.

I threw the doors open, walking in and taking a seat at the bar. The young woman with Mexican looking heritage who was tending the bar swayed up to me, giving me a wink before asking for my order. She had to be around twenty two, give or take a bit.

"Two sarsaparillas and a beer," I said, not looking up as Iggy slammed onto the stool next to me and Aidan took his seat quietly.

"That'll be-"

"Ella," a voice called from a door in the back that led somewhere, "Put their tab on me."

"Yes, father," she replied back almost automatically, handing us our drinks before going to take someone else's order.

A man with short blond-brown hair and round glasses that made it almost impossible to see his light brown eyes walked over to us, pulling up a stool on the other side of the counter that made up the bar area. He put his elbows on the counter, locked his fingers, and rested his chin on his now intertwined hands while he looked me straight in the eyes.

"My name is Jeb Ride. I own this place and half the livestock in the town. I need a package delivered to Camden, New Jersey, in at least a week. A few less than that would be great. I don't know when they need it, but if it's late…"

Aidan whistled, "Williamson to Camden in five days? Adding in rest stops and full nights rest for the horses, and one campfire sing along, that treks got to be almost impossible."

Mr. Ride chuckled dryly, "Almost? Yes. Completely? Well, I've heard you boys have made worse treks in less time."

Aidan was nodding slightly as I looked over at him before shifting my eyes to Iggy. He sat forward, tipping his hat slightly, "How much you willing to pay?"

"How much is basic coverage for you and your horses?"

"Let's see," Aidan spoke up before I could, "Water's free if we take a bit longer to pass by clean streams. Feed for a regular horse, feed for a Clydesdale, and feed for a picky son of a mare. Food for us. I'm gonna need new boots if we're gonna be 'loping for a while. I'll cover half for that, but, I hate to be stingy, I wouldn't need new ones if it weren't for you wanting us to go to Camden. Add that all together and see what amount you come up with."

Iggy chuckled, "Then add that to the thousand dollar fee for even taking this trek."

"Whoa," I interrupted before it got out of hand. "Aidan, you can pay at least two third of the custom made boots we'll have to get for your big ass feet. And, Iggy, you know we do set the start fee. We let them pick a price and see if we think it's reasonable."

Mr. Ride grunted, getting out attention, "Do you boys think you'll be able to make it?"

I tapped my fingers on the bar while I talked it out, "With the conditions Aidan explained: Full nights rest, short rest stops, and one campfire sing along… Yeah, I'm sure we'll be able to make it just within a week, maybe a day less, but I can't make promises with a trek like this."

Mr. Ride stood up, "I knew you boys were the right men to talk to. Two thousand it is." I opened my mouth to object but he cut me off, "I don't care if it's way over what I need to pay. I just want you to promise me that the extra money will be put away so you three will be able to support yawl own families when they come about.

"Now, you boys should get a good night's sleep somewhere in town tonight before starting out tomorrow. I know I'm not your boss, but I don't want this trip starting out bad for you boys. I need that package in Camden as soon as it can be."

"Wait," Ella came up, holding a tray at her side, "campfire sing along?"

"Yeah," Iggy smirked, "Aidan's the best guitar player you'll ever meet and Fangster's got the best voice."

Ella giggled, "And what do you got?"

Iggy quirked and eyebrow, "Do you really want to know, sweetheart?"

Mr. Ride cleared his throat angrily, "Ella, get back to work!"

She looked down at the end of her dress, seeming to put on an act of feeling ashamed, "Yes, father."

Fang stood, holding his hand out to shake Mr. Ride's, "One seven fifty?"

Mr. Ride nodded jerkily, still glaring at Iggy and not seeming to mind the option of a change of payment anymore, "One seven fifty."

_/After their drinks, outside of the bar/_

I adjusted Cobalt's saddle, waiting for Iggy and Aidan to come back from getting his new boots. Just as I finished sifting through the saddle bag to find his brush, a voice came from behind me.

"I hear my dad hired you to take… the package to Camden," a young woman, more than likely around my age, stood a few feet away, staring at me as if she wasn't sure if I was good or not. She had long blondish brown hair that was pulled up into a messy bun, gorgeous brown eyes, and a tan that looked like she was always out with the animals. She was wearing a long beige Sunday dress that seemed to have many layers sitting against her legs, making the skirt poof out, and it also had very short sleeves, only reaching just past her shoulder.

"Yes, ma'am, that right," I said, putting on a charming voice that even I wasn't expecting.

She raised her eyebrows, rolling her eyes slightly, "And you think you can make that trek?"

I gestured to my horse, "Not without Cobalt here."

She nodded, looking my horse up and down before her eyes widened. "Whoa," she breathed out. The only reason I didn't turn around was because, by the clomping of heavy feet, I already knew what it was.

"Yep!" Aidan called, moving his red eyes to where he heard the voice of the woman from.

"Is that a Clydesdale?" the woman asked, watching as the humongous grey and white Clydesdale mare came stomping up with Aidan sitting atop her saddle.

"That's correct, young lady!" Aidan called, earning a chuckle from Iggy who was riding his brown bay with a bright white mane while leading Aidan's horse.

"What's her name?" The woman asked excitedly.

"What's yours?" I asked, making her eyes dart to me.

"Maximum Ride," She answered sternly before turning back to the Clydesdale.

Iggy smirked, probably biting his tongue to keep himself from saying something as Aidan answered Maximum's question. "This is Bear and the gelding Iggy is riding is Quickster."

Maximum gave the blind boy a big grin, before turning back to me with a harsh stare. She was about to say something when Mr. Ride's voice called out from inside, "Max! Go find Nudge and help her collect the horses, we need Bessley in for her shots with the rest by nightfall!"

She turned, lifting her skirts before she ran away. Something about the way some of her strands of hair fell out of the bun and how her hips moved made me stare after her.

Iggy's voice broke through my thoughts of… well, nothing, "Fang, you're drooling."


	3. Chapter Two: Midnight Snack

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride or anything that is obvious that I don't own. If I get anything incorrect (which, I think I'll keep things vague enough in areas I don't know, I don't think I will) just review and tell me :D**

Long Ride From Home

_Chapter Two: Midnight Snack_

_Fang_

The sheets at the inn were itchy, scratching my skin and sticking to my legs. I blinked up at the ceiling, watching the fan go around and around. I could hear Aidan venting in the bed to my right and Iggy turning over in his sleep to my left.

I sighed, finally deciding I wasn't going to get any sleep anytime soon and rolling out of bed. I slipped on my dark trousers before pulling on my button up black shirt, only buttoning it up halfway. I tugged on my boots, making sure they were comfortable on my feet before walking out of the inn room.

Outside, everything was quite. There were few people out and all the shops were closed. The only building that was emitting light was the pub owned by Mr. Ride down the street.

I sighed, walking past the three sleeping horses and towards the pub. It didn't take me long to walk inside, spotting Maximum as she waitressed the tables in the same uniform Ella was in earlier.

I smirked at her before taking a seat in a small booth near the back. Soon, she was walking over, not seeming to notice it was me until she was only a few tables away.

Her eyes drifted from my probably messy hair down to the olive toned skin that was showing from the unbuttoned part of my shirt. Her eyes seemed to linger there before snapping up to my own eyes. "Do you want to hear what's on the menu?" she droned, sounding bored.

My smirk deepened, "Only if you're on it."

Her eyebrows rose, "Do you want me to go get my father? I bet he could take another thousand off your pay. That is, if you get paid."

"Feisty," I commented, "Fang likey."

Max shrugged, "If that's what you want, I'll go find my fa-"

I grabbed her arm before she could walk off, "Just tell me what meat there is at this place."

"Steak, pulled pork, and fried chicken," she said nonchalantly, not breaking her glare directed at me.

I let go of her arm, trying to ignore the tingles that were running up and down my own and creating butterflies in my stomach. "Get me the biggest steak you have and a mug of sarsaparilla."

"What?" she asked mockingly, "No beer?"

"I've got to ride in the morning, sweetheart," I replied, watching her to see her reaction. She just rolled her eyes and turned, walking into the kitchen to give the cook my order.

Or to go find a rifle to blast me into Swiss cheese with; though I hoped it was the first.

_/Fifteen minutes later/_

The pub had emptied out by the time Max brought me my order, the only other person in the eating area other than the two of us was what looked like an unconscious man at the table farthest away from mine.

Once Max sat down my food, she sat down across from me with a sigh. "Rough day?" I asked.

She looked at me, "You have no idea. You've probably never had to lift a finger a day in your life."

All emotion left my face, "You'd be surprised sweetheart."

The kitchen door opened, a black woman in her early twenties walked through in an old dress. She looked at Max with her dark brown eyes and adjusted her curly black hair as she spoke, "I'm going to get back so I can finish my chores."

"That's fine, Nudgey," Max called to her.

Once the woman left, I looked up at Max, "Was that your slave?"

Max gave a sad smiled, "The one and only. We don't treat her like a slave, though. She does the chores my younger sister can't bother to do and she cooks, then she gets to sleep in a warm bed in the add-on in our barn.'

I nodded, "We don't treat our slaves rough, but my dad needs a lot of help at his stables and, no matter how much money you have, feeding fifteen well ain't cheep."

She shrugged, looking down at her hands while I finished my steak.

"What are you still doing here Max?" Mr. Ride's voice came from the door beside the one that led to the kitchen. "And, you, why are you up at this time of the night?"

His voice was harsh, explaining that he probably wasn't happy to find his daughter and I alone in his pub at the middle of the night. Even if we weren't doing anything.

Max began to talk, thankfully for me because my mouth was full of my last bite of steak. "I was waiting until he finished his midnight snack, father," Max answered. "Nudge just left."

"What about you?" Mr. Ride turned to me.

I swallowed, running my tongue along my teeth before speaking, "Couldn't sleep and I was hungry."

He nodded, "Well, you should get along and get some sleep now. Max, you can hook Jay up to the team and we'll leave in the coach."

I agreed, taking the final drink out of my mug before standing and walking out the door.

For some reason, I felt the need to impress the two who where closing up the pub while I walked down the street and to the horses.

I could see a slim form leaning against the large Clydesdale, but couldn't figure out if it was Aidan or Iggy from the distance. Whichever it was, they were talking, more like flirting from the looks of it, with someone who could have easily have been the cook from the pub.

As I got closer, she moved off, her skirt swaying as she walked over to her own horse and climbed on. I stopped walking, watching as the man waved at her as she road towards another part of town.

"Maximum!" a voice yelled in aggravation as the sound of hooves stormed past me. Then Mr. Ride laughed as he watched his daughter ride off after the cook's horse.

"Well, that didn't burst my eardrums," Aidan's voice came from the man sarcastically.

"Someone likes the slave," I sang teasingly, walking past the blind boy.

"What? Didn't hear you."


	4. Chapter Three: Out of Williamson

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride or anything that is obvious that I don't own. If I get anything incorrect (which, I think I'll keep things vague enough in areas I don't know, I don't think I will) just review and tell me :D**

Long Ride From Home

_Chapter Three: Out of Williamson, Through Waco_

_Fang_

I yawned, rubbing my temples as I looked around the town. I had a pounding headache and felt as if the sun was trying to burn a hole into my eyes. I finished tying up Aidan's saddlebag with Jeb's package in it before walking over to Cobalt and climbing up onto my saddle.

Aidan had snuck off, probably to say goodbye to the slave he had been conversing with the night before, while Iggy was signing out of the inn.

I felt as if I had a hangover, just nowhere near impaired. I pulled my black hat over my hair, letting it block out a good amount of the harsh light. I closed my eyes, letting my mind go blank as I rested. But it didn't last long, a familiar giggle sounding as she ran across the path to where Iggy just came out of the inn.

Ella was even more dressed up, fawning over Iggy saying that she would miss him and hoped for him to come back to their little town. Iggy sucked it all in, letting his ego fuel up even though it was already spilling over the rim. She seemed disappointed when all he did was flirt back.

This happened in every town we stopped in. Iggy had this constant disposition to flirt with anything in a skirt. Aidan and I figured it was because most groveled at his feet, worshiping him like he was some sort of god. He couldn't ever get that where we were from, for reasons most of these girls didn't know about.

I was pulled out of my thoughts once again by Iggy hauling himself up onto Quickster. He grinned at me, putting on his own hat, "Aidan said to meet him at the end of Ride's estate. It's the road we'd need to take out of here, anyway, since we're headed up to Camden."

_/End of Ride's estate/_

Bear was tied to Quickster, following like she usually did since her rider was blind. Aidan was standing at the corner post of the Ride's pasture, hat tipped down and ankles crossed as he leaned up against the thick post.

He lifted his head as he heard the clomp of the hooves, stepping away from the post and walking straight towards carved dirt road. Iggy stopped Bear where Aidan didn't have to search for her and held her lead to make sure she didn't move.

"Where were you?" I asked teasingly.

"Saying goodbye," he replied, a smile on his face.

"Did the virgin finally lose it?" Iggy asked, getting a boot in his back and a gruff quiet 'no'. "Hey, don't have to beat me just cause you ain't been with a woman."

"Leave him be, Iggy. Not everyone's a man-whore like you," I sighed, turning to give him a look.

Just then, something caught my eye. It was only there for a glimpse, but there had definitely been something farther down the road. I blinked, stopping Cobalt to try and look for whatever it was.

But it was gone. Probably slipped into the field or down the opposite path of the road. "What?" Aidan asked, sounding hopeful to change the subject.

"I thought I saw something."

"Yeah right," Iggy rolled his eyes. "Come on, we got to get headed to Camden."

_/Waco, Texas around lunch time/_

We tied up our horses and climbed off, Aidan sneaking the package from the pouch to the bag at his hip. We walked into the little restaurant, picking a table and waiting for the waitress.

After we ordered, I heard the door open up again. I paid no attention to it, ignoring the dress sit across the room in my peripheral vision.

We ate in idle chitchat, finishing and taking whatever leftovers we had to eat for dinner that night. We headed out, climbing on our horses and leaving Waco behind.

With the sound of sixteen hooves.

_/Heading North, Ten at Night/_

Iggy cleaned up our scraps while Aidan laid out the sleeping bags, leaving me to brush down and unsaddle the horses. We were camping by a good sized river, letting the horses have their fill of water.

After the blind boy was finished, he made his way over to the water. He began to pull off his clothes and threw himself stark naked into the slow ripple of river-waves.

Iggy laughed, finished with what he was doing, and followed suit, leaving me the only one clothed and dry. The Irish-boy wet his hair, pushing it back so that his cowlick wouldn't lie in his face. He watched me finish with the horses before calling out, "Come on, the waters nice. We need to wash off, anyway. We're all starting to stink and look as darked by the dirt as them slaves."

I rolled my eyes, but started to peel off my own dirt and sweet covered clothes. Once I was in the water, feeling the cool flow around my body, I could hear all the creatures in the forest.

Including something, probably scared by our splashes, heading away from the side of the river.

**Short, I know. But review and be prepared for the next chapter, which **_**should**_** be much longer.**


	5. AN

**Hey. Yeah, yeah, I know it's been a while. And no, this isn't an update. I do have good news though: **

**I do have a story going that is being updated extremely regularly. We've been cranking out about four chapters a day. **

**I say we because this story is on a joint account between me and VampireRide. The account is Vampire-knows**

**Yeah, I know, clever. But it works. And it's catchy. **

**Anyway, you guys should go check out the story. It's an MR one, of course, and so far I think it's pretty awesome. **

**Hopefully Still Your Author,**

**MPHknows**


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